i have an 05 altima and today as i pulled in my driveway i noticed smoke coming from under the hood and a smell of buring oil.
Transmission fluid is leaking from beneath the starter but pooling up on tranny above axle. Im thinking the trans seal is leaking between the engine and trans. Tomorrow il pull the starter to get a better look.
anyone seen this befor? the car has 180k so i was thinking if im gonna drop it to do the seal that il also do the rear main also.
the other thing im wondering is if i should swap the tranny too. my local reputable salvage yard has one with 50k for 350 or one with 78k for 200 id have to call to see why the ones much cheaper.

If the transmission is working properly, there is no reason to swap it out, especially for a used unit; who knows if that trans is any better than what you have? If just the front seal is leaking, then you should replace that and check/replace the engine rear main seal as you suggested. I would also replace the two diff seals on the trans while it's out.

have you seen or heard of the seal leaking in this manner? from starter?

the reason im thinking of swapping the tranny is
on a rare occasion maybe once every 4k it would shift funny on a very steap hill,from a stop at bottom of hill if i accelerate with pedal 3/4 to the floor then let off then press pedal light it would feel like if slipped then bang.

ive seen a bad tps cause this so i figured it was the gas pedal since its drive by wire, but havent addressed it since i wasnt 100% sure and it rarely happens

well it wasnt a seal at all. there was a 12mm nut flying around in the bell scoring everything up and finally punched a hole in the differential. I wonder how it got there Ive had the car 9 months/20k and it didnt get in there while ive owned it.

wrecker had 2 trannys 50k $400 and 76k $200 90 day warranty. he said to flush lines and put new filter to keep the warranty in tact now im not sure what to do next
filter and fill it up and drive it ?
filter and poor man flush(if thats what its called)?
drive to a trans shop for flush( dont really wana do that)?
drive to dealer for flush(dont really wana do that either)?
aaa will tow me free anywhere if its better not to drive it without flushing im just not sure

Looks a lot like a torque converter bolt... Nissans dont use filters that are serviced; all that's in there is a screen. The thinking is that if there's enough debris in the trans to clog a filter, then the trans needs an overhaul not a fluid and filter service. Personally, I would just install the used trans, fill with the proper type ATF, drive it to the next oil change and do a drain and fill of the trans.

Looks a lot like a torque converter bolt... Nissans dont use filters that are serviced; all that's in there is a screen. The thinking is that if there's enough debris in the trans to clog a filter, then the trans needs an overhaul not a fluid and filter service. Personally, I would just install the used trans, fill with the proper type ATF, drive it to the next oil change and do a drain and fill of the trans.

I have to agree with smj here. I've had a few CVT's torn down to the filters but you cant get replacements unless you're doing a reduction gear overhaul. That bolt does very closely resemble a torque converter bolt. How it was left in the housing and you didn't hear that rattle is crazy.